Dwarves
Society Dwarves consider marriage sacred, and due to their longer-than-human life spans, take their one mate early and stay with him or her for up to a few centuries. Typically, a male and female who choose to marry are given permission by the Priest King to either use an already created house in the saighe wall or to build their own. Members of the clergy are not allowed to marry and since males usually join the clergy before reaching sexual maturity, becoming attached to a female usually isn't a problem. Dwarves consider males and females equal, but their jobs in a saighe are very evenly divided. Males usually become members of the clergy where they work as farmers, scribes, and healers in addition to their normal religious responsibilities while females tend forges and usually become artisans or farmers. Both males and females have been known to be assigned above ground merchant tasks, selling semi-precious metals and stones (but no technology or weapons) to above-grounders like noble men and elves. Religion & Government Because the origin of what are now known as dwarves is deeply tied to their God, religion is the core of the life of any dwarf. For a dwarf, the tale of Romaldur and the Faceless One isn't just a foundation for a belief system, but a series of facts that explains the existence of modern Dwarves. Dwarven religion is patriarchical (based on the fact that most dwarven texts refer to dwarves as "brothers") and the hierarchy of priests forms a monarchy with the "Priest King" as the figurehead of each saighe. The dwarves live their lives by a set of tenets, given to each of the original Priest Kings after the death of Romaldur. They are as follows: 1. Be it that a dwarf lay his hands on another only in aid and never in violence. Stone and iron were bestowed to you for good, not for evil. He who harms his brothers will never walk my halls. 2. Be it that the dwarves give to them that need. Turn not away the naked or the hurt, feed always the hungry and heal always the sick. 3. Be it that you aid the righteous and smite the wicked. The corrupt and the vain do not see. Open their eyes to the light with stone and fire and shield the valiant in battle. Saighes operate individually on a day-to-day basis in terms of local government, yet there is an extremely large and intricate series of railways that run between saighes that allow for quick communication. Traditionally, when a member of the priesthood recieves a particularly significant vision, the details of that vision are recorded in The Codex of the Faceless One, a universal dwarven book that documents interactions between dwarves and their God. Updates are quickly scribed and sent along the railways on gnomish locomotives that deliver the visions to the Codex-keepers at the base of the saighe. Language The dwarven dictionary is, in comparison to other languages, extremely small with only about 3000 words. Most complicated or modern words are made of simpler, often archaic ones that have changed or broadened in meaning over the years. As an example, the dwarven word for "city " or "home" is "saighe" ("sa''i" ''- cave, grotto) ("-ghe" -suffix referring to the Faceless One, loosely translated to "One"). The dwarven written language is entirely hieroglyphic because before their gift of functioning eyes, the Dwarves had to carve their script into the ground and feel the grooves, another reason for their limited dictionary. Since then, the Dwarves have blended their script with that of the Gnomes so that their blueprints and plans would be easy for both races to understand. History In the very early years of the Pre-Marnic Era (what the Dwarves called the “Blind Ages,” around 3500 years ago) Proto-Dwarves were a sightless, physically weak, surface-dwelling race that were slaves to Old Injil because of their lack of magical powers. The Faceless One spoke his name to Romaldur the Sighted, granting him vision. With his eyes, he made a shield and axe from iron which were resistant to magic and more advanced than the Old Injil's bronze weapons. As the first Dwarven Cleric, he channeled the gift of the Faceless One to his brothers so that they could see and work metal. Romaldur inspired his brothers to rise up and overthrow their former masters and began his assault directly after the Injili Emperor was deposed. With their iron weapons, Romaldur and his brothers slaughtered their magical masters in battle. However, Romaldur received a fatal wound in the battle and, before he died, received one last vision from his God. He told his brothers to spread across the continent until told to build the saighes or “Temples of the One.” Romaldur then ascended to the Hall of The Faceless One and the leaders of each group became the first Priest Kings who gouged out their eyes, symbolizing the trade of mortal sight for the sight of a God. However, when the saighes were done, The Faceless One only communicated with Dwarves in dreams, going dormant now that his people had become strong. The Priest Kings continued the tradition of eye removal until about two hundred years ago, the beginning of what humans call the “Free Years.” Symbiosis with Gnomes About five hundred years after the Dwarven-Old Injili War, the culture and technological advances of the Dwarves had slowed after its initial burst of growth. However, in accordance with the tenets set by Romaldur during his life, the Dwarves adopted a group of Gnomes that, much like the Proto-Dwarves, were a gifted yet weak and abused race. The Dwarves had already built the saighes (though not to their modern depths) and offered their protection in exchange for Gnomish engineering. The Gnomes and Dwarves made fast friends and together developed technological marvels such as extensive plumbing and air duct systems, and locomotive engines. Gnomes, being intelligent but impulsive creatures, had been inventing for a long time, but the Dwarven temprance and metallurgical skill kept the Gnomes from becoming dangerously reckless. Despite the huge amount of technological success found in saighes, the above world is still in the midst of a Dark Age. The Dwarves and Gnomes do not keep their technology from men because of pride or selfishness, but because the Dwarves only fought the war they had to to become Dwarves while men and elves fight wars over petty borders and kingdoms. The Dwarves pledge, although quietly, that as soon as the soil of the world of men ceases to be steeped in blood, that they will share their technology with other races. Significant Translations Old Injili – Fire-Tongued (Frzhantiv) The Faceless One – Vrdunghe True Sight, Godly Vision- Khylz'oghe Hall of the Faceless One – Ozhrag Vrdungheda Dwarves - Gnomes - G'evmukhla